What You Should Do If A Nuclear Bomb Explodes Nearby

TheÂ headline might strike some readers as tongue in cheek — as if you can really do anything if a nuclear bomb explodes nearby. And,Â clearly if you are too close, there is little you will be able to do.Â However, it is less well know thatÂ there areÂ things that to you can do if you are in theÂ vicinity thatÂ might help you and your family survive such a catastrophe.

That was the message of a number of witnesses at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing in April, which is part of the sameÂ series of hearings on nuclear preparedness mentioned in the last post. SinceÂ I just argued thatÂ there was a need for moreÂ public educationÂ in that area,Â IÂ decided to do a little of it on the blog.

ThoughÂ the hearings haveÂ fargely focusedÂ on the policy and implementationÂ issues around the work ofÂ first responders, there have beenÂ some helpful tips for the public discussed as well. And I thought I would pass them on.

I don’t expectÂ anyone toÂ commit every tip and instructionÂ to memory. But I think it can be very helpful ifÂ people have heard some of the adviceÂ at leastÂ once. I think it’s even helpful to know thatÂ there areÂ actually some actions to mitigate the impact of aÂ nuclear explosion,Â which is not what many people think.

In fact,Â the Committee’s ranking Republican, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME),Â said during theÂ hearingÂ that she thinks Americans haveÂ â€œgone backwardsâ€ since the 1950s and 1960s when it comes to knowing the facts aboutÂ what to do in the event of a nuclear attack.

One important point that came up in the hearingÂ is thatÂ fleeing a nuclear blast is often not the best strategy. According to an article by CQ’s Daniel Fowler:

â€œThe natural inclination is to flee and what theyâ€™re going to do is theyâ€™re going to get caught in gridlock,â€ said Cham E. Dallas, director of the Institute for Health Management and Mass Destruction Defense at the University of Georgia. â€œTheyâ€™re going to get caught in gridlock because everyone else will be fleeing, and that is not viable. Most people should not fleeâ€ because they wonâ€™t be affected.

Ashton B. Carter, co-director of the Preventive Defense Project at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, echoed the sentiment. â€œCertainly most of my friends and family who donâ€™t do this, they think that a nuclear weapon levels an entire city and that anybody nearby better get out of the way or theyâ€™re going to get covered in radiation,â€ Carter said after the hearing. â€œThatâ€™s just not true.â€

In fact, Dallasâ€™ written testimony said, â€œThe highest impacts of radiation generally occur when people are caught in the open, or are tied up in traffic jams trying to escape in vehicles which provide little protection against fallout.â€

As part of his testimony, Dallas presented visuals of the impact of a 10-kiloton (kt) detonation near the White House. He said the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were only slightly larger. Both Dallas and Carter said 10 kt is the standard reference.

â€œIt could be expected that there would be at least 150,000 serious injuries and that at least 70 percent of these could involve fatalities,â€ Dallas said in his written testimony. â€œDepending on the resources made available at the time, it is likely that there would be an attempt to evacuate as many as 500,000 people from the area, though the efficacy of such an attempt is dubious.â€

â€œThis would be the worst disaster to befall the country, but itâ€™s not the case, as many believe, that the entire city would be destroyed,â€ Carter said after the hearing. â€œMost of the people in this city would be unaffected â€” and those that were affected but not killed would have a great chance to save themselves.â€

Carter said most Washington residents wouldnâ€™t need to leave their homes even if the nuclear weapon went off downtown â€œbecause the radioactive debris would be carried downwind from them.â€

In response to a question from Chairman Joseph I. Lieberman (I-CT) about what the most important thing the federal government can do to be prepared to respond the day after a nuclear attack, Dallas said his priority would be to get the truth out about the limited, but serious, impact of such a scenario.

â€œThe misconceptions of the public about radiation are incredible,â€ he said.

While we areÂ on the topic, I thought I would add a few more tips to help address some of those misconceptions.Â They come from a recentÂ San Francisco Chronicle articleÂ about aÂ National Academy of SciencesÂ conference this month on medical preparedness for a nuclear attack.

– If there is any warning, take cover – in a basement or heavily reinforced building.

– Lie flat on the ground and cover your head. If the explosion is some distance away, it could take 30 seconds or more for the shock wave to hit.

– Do not look at the flash or fireball, which can blind you.

– Avoid windows, which can shatter and injure.

– Listen to official instructions. If authorities say it is safe to evacuate, do so quickly.

– Otherwise, remain sheltered in place – even if you are many miles from the blast site, because wind can carry radioactive fallout for hundreds of miles.

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4 responses so far ↓

The best thing you can do is put your head between your legs,and kiss your own ass. First thing i would personally do,is steal enough lead vests for me and my familiy from the local dentistry. It will offer your major organs better protection from radioactive fall out. Clean exposed skin whenever possible with soapy-bleachy water. Second,try to stay in doors for as long as you can. It typically takes around three months before it’s safe to venture outside.And theird,stragglers will kill you and your family to steal what little you’ll have for survival. Take no chances with friends and neighbors,stay strictly with intermediate family.Human nature will be at it’s worst shall a nuclear explosion occur.

I was curious I live in oakville, washington. I am thinking about building a concrete above ground root cellar that could double as a bomb shelter for a family of six. Would the fall out reach me? and what do you do for air ventilation so we don’t all die of aphyxiation?

[...] In 2008, the Senate Homeland Security Committee held a series of interesting hearings on nuclear preparedness which also produced some tangible things people might be able to do in the event a nuclear attack. I wrote in a post, “What You Should Do If A Nuclear Bomb Explodes Nearby“: [...]